


Still Struggling

by TheDoctorIsIcecube



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Autistic Link, Comfort, Gen, Let's be real though this game has been out like six years, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Minor Spoilers, Post-Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 06:56:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10588767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoctorIsIcecube/pseuds/TheDoctorIsIcecube
Summary: Everything has ended and Link feels like maybe he should have grown a little more on his journey. Everyday tasks should be easy in comparison, but they're not. He stares out at the sky and wonders how much anything has really changed.





	

Up here above the clouds, the sky was always peaceful. When he'd spent time down on the surface, there had been weather, but here, there was just sun and clear skies and clouds below, so many clouds.

Before, the clouds had been a fact of life. They existed, he existed, there wasn't much else to life. He could fly on his Loftwing to avoid all his problems and when flying was his problem he could practise swordplay and when everything was a problem he could watch the clouds.

Now, there was a whole world down below the clouds that people had started visiting, that Zelda seemed intent to make habitable, that she wanted his help with sorting out. As if he was any good at things like that. As if he was any good at anything, honestly. He still couldn't do what he'd been trying to do his whole life. He was meant to be a member of this society, and now he was meant to be someone that people looked up to. There were people training to be knights who saw him as a hero, yet he could do nothing.

True, there was the whole 'saving Zelda and stopping Demise and Ghirahim' thing, but that wasn't life. That was nothing LIKE life. Nothing at all. Just because he did that didn't mean he magically became a person who could do well outside of anything other than battle. He could fight. But he'd never been able to do anything more than fight. He was starting to think that he'd never come to anything more than the 'child in a young adult's body'.

"Link?" The sudden sound of a voice made him jump, and he twisted around to see Zelda. He smiled faintly at her, wondering what she'd come to interrogate him about. People liked doing that. For a moment, she didn't say anything more, she just sat next to him and started watching the clouds too. "I shouldn't have expected that of you and I'm sorry," she said. Now he just felt worse for failing her.

He offered her a smile, awkwardly patting her leg in the hopes of conveying that it wasn't her fault. None of this was her fault. It was all on him. "Don't worry about it Link, really," she said, moving a little bit closer. "Is it okay if I lean on you?" He nodded, though he wasn't really sure if it was. "It was my own fault because I foolishly forgot how difficult it is."

He shook his head again. Zelda's habit of blaming herself for things couldn't be healthy, really. Link hesitated, then rested an arm around her waist. Comfort. "I sent you to the Bazaar with all those people and I knew they'd ask you questions," she said. She really needed to stop but he couldn't tell her to stop. "How are you feeling? You don't have to give me a detailed answer."

Link shrugged, then let out a heavy sigh. That ought to be answer enough. It certainly seemed to be, because Zelda looked sadly up at him and then wrapped him in a proper hug. Finally, finally he started to feel a little normal again. He always forgot how relaxing Zelda's presence was. "Why does it have to be so hard?" She asked. "I thought that when the task was over we could be okay again. Life could go on as it had before but I hoped that you'd find things a little easier."

Link didn't respond to that; both because he couldn't, and because he didn't really know he answer. He hugged Zelda back, hiding his face in her shoulder. The soft fabric of her clothing smelled familiar, pleasant. "You don't have to be any more than the person you always have been," she said. Her voice was quieter now, even though they were still completely alone. "The people in the Bazaar should know better than to overload you like that; it's their fault."

Goddesses, Link wished that he knew a ways to express just how much Zelda's words meant to him. There were words in his head, plenty of them, but none that he could give voice to. Maybe later, when his brain decided to make its way out of the fog, he would be able to say thank you. But he wouldn't be able to say everything else about how just her being there helped him more than anything else and how he loved her hugs and the scent of her clothes and the way her eyes didn't probe and how he loved her but he couldn't find the words to say it.

He pulled back reluctantly and smiled, hoping to convey even a little of all of those thoughts. Zelda deserved to know how important she was. "I hope you feel better soon," Zelda said. "Fledge said it was really bad and someone had to help you out of the Bazaar." Honestly, he didn't remember much of it. He remembered how loud it was and how people kept getting closer, and then all of a sudden the words caught in his mouth and he couldn't stop shaking.

Fledge had been exactly right, though. Someone had escorted him outside and shooed away all the people, which had been nice of them. Oftentimes, no one bothered. In those times, he was just left in the place that had made him hurt. In those times, all he could do was sit there and wait for it to pass. If no one helped him at first, people wouldn't help him later, and in the past it had often ended with someone like Groose coming up to him and maybe kicking him in the side to get him to move.

He sighed, pressing himself a little closer to Zelda. She, at least, was always nice to him. No matter what was going on, she was his best friend, just as she always had been.


End file.
